Five Lessons from the Carmelite Saints
That Will Change Your Life
By Connie Rossini
Copyright©2013 Connie Rossini
Version 2
The Lessons
1. You were made for union with God.
2. Holiness begins and ends with love.
3. Prayer is necessary for salvation.
4. Little things matter (a lot).
5. The greater your trust, the greater your spiritual growth.
***
1. You were made for union with God.
“God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world,
and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” So says the Baltimore
Catechism (Question 6). Maybe you memorized that as a child. But did you
understand it?
God did not make you to get into Heaven by the skin of your teeth.
God did not make you to spend years suffering in Purgatory.
God did not make you to barely avoid committing mortal sin - most of the
time.
God made you to be intimately united with Him, even in this life.
“Behold, the Lord invites all. Since He is truth itself, there is no reason
to doubt.”
- St. Teresa of Ávila,
The Way of Perfection, Ch. 19
We are all called to be saints. This is the teaching of the Church.
“Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the
faithful, whatever their condition or state – though each in his own way –
are called by the Lord to that perfection of sanctity by which the Father
himself is perfect” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 825).
St. John of the Cross writes in The Living Flame of Love:
“And here it ought to be pointed out why so few reach this high state of
perfect union with God. It should be known that the reason is not that God
wishes only a few of these spirits to be so elevated; He would rather want
all to be perfect, but He finds few vessels that will endure so lofty and
sublime a work” (2, 27 – emphasis mine).
What to do:
Resolve right now to persevere in your quest for God until you reach the
heights of the spiritual life. Reconfirm this resolve every morning. Ask the
Carmelite saints to help you.
***
2. Holiness begins and ends with love.
Do you think of the Christian life as a list of rules to follow? Did Lesson 1
leave you feeling nervous or depressed or guilty?
Relax! Holiness is not just about living a moral life. Even some pagans do
that (see Matthew 5:46-7).
It’s not dull and boring (though it does demand plenty of effort).
Holiness is responding to God’s total self-gift to us by giving ourselves
totally to Him. It is love responding to being loved.
“At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love.”
- St. John of the Cross,
Sayings of Light and Love, 60
John of the Cross wrote an entire book about God’s love, The Living Flame
of Love. It contains one of the greatest poems in the Spanish language.
Many people think John’s doctrine of detachment (see Lesson 4) is too
harsh. They forget his teaching on love, which must be learned first.
As his patron saint wrote, “In this is love, not that we loved God but that He
loved us and sent His Son to be the expiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
Do you realize how much God loves you? Don’t you want to love Him
back?
What to do:
Prayerfully read the Gospels. Meditate on Jesus’ suffering and death. Recall
how He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and offered comfort to the
sorrowful and weary. Get to know Jesus, and you will be inspired to love
Him.
***
3. Prayer is necessary for salvation.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what one spiritual rule could you
continue to follow?
Pray daily.
What is the first piece of advice I give to everyone about the spiritual life?
Pray daily.
You’re probably already going to weekly Mass. You may be reading good
spiritual books. But daily Mass might not be possible for you, and good
books are not always on hand. You can pray anywhere, any time. You don’t
need a book. You don’t need a prayer group. You don’t need a church
building. You don’t even need a set format. You can pray no matter how
busy you are, no matter if you are single or married or a priest or religious.
Prayer is communing with God. It is a foretaste of Heaven.
“He who neglects mental prayer needs no devil to carry him to hell. He
brings himself there with his own hands.”
- St. Teresa of Ávila,
Quoted by St Alphonsus Liguori
Mental prayer means praying to God from the heart, as opposed to vocal
prayer - a prayer that was written by others. St. Thérèse of Lisieux wrote,
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward
Heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy”
(Manuscrits Autobiographiques, C 25r).
Likewise, St. Teresa wrote, "Mental prayer is nothing else than a close
sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with
Him who we know loves us" (The Book of her Life 8.5).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it clear that everyone should
practice mental prayer daily (see especially nos. 2707-2710). And why
wouldn’t you want to spend time with the one who loves you more than you
can imagine?
What to do:
Set aside a specific time to pray every day. Start with 15 minutes in one
sitting, and gradually increase that to 30 minutes. Make spending time with
our Lord your top priority.
Read more about prayer here:
http://contemplativehomeschool.wordpress.com/?s=prayer
***
4. Little things matter (a lot).
Think God doesn’t care about your addiction to caffeine? Think again. If
you want to be holy, you must be willing to give up everything for love of
God.
You must be willing to let go of Monday Night Football.
Twitter.
Your plans for the weekend.
Aspirations for your kids.
Chocolate.
“As long as this attachment remains, it is impossible to make progress
in perfection, even though the imperfection be very small. It makes
little difference whether a bird is tied by a thin thread or by a cord.
Even if it is tied by a thread, the bird will be held bound… it will be
impeded from flying as long as it does not break the thread.”
- St John of the Cross,
Ascent of Mt. Carmel, Book One, 11.4.
Are you ready to ascend Mt. Carmel on the wings of a bird? Are you tired
of being tied down by the things of this earth?
Everything that God created is good. But He made the physical world as a
means of drawing us towards Himself. One day, it will have served its
purpose and be gone. Will you be ready to leave it behind when God calls
you? “You can’t take it with you” - not to Heaven, and not up the mountain.
Let’s follow St. Paul in enjoying the things of this earth without being
consumed by them (1 Corinthians 7:31).
What to do:
Each day, deny yourself one thing that you’d like to have. It could be a
second cup of coffee, late-night TV, checking your e-mail, or hot water in
the shower. Offer your sacrifice to God out of love.
Read more:
What is detachment in the Catholic spiritual life?
Why is spiritual detachment necessary?
***
5. The greater your trust, the greater your spiritual growth.
Are you feeling discouraged after Lesson 4? There’s no need to. This final
lesson is one of the most encouraging you will ever learn. It’s also one of
the most challenging.
Ever since the Garden of Eden, people have tried to make it to Heaven on
their own merits. They have failed every time. No one (but Jesus) is good
enough. No one (but Jesus) is strong enough.
No matter how virtuous you are, at some point you will sin. You may feel
like the spiritual life is impossible, like holiness must be for other people,
not yourself. You may want to give up.
Don’t! You are on the verge of one of the great discoveries of your spiritual
life.
You must take your eyes off yourself and focus on God.
“It is trust and nothing but trust that must lead us to Love.”
- St. Thérèse of Lisieux,
Letter 197
St. Thérèse loved to quote this saying of John of the Cross: “the soul
obtains from God all that she hopes for from Him” (The Dark Night of the
Soul, Book One, 21.8). She became a great saint quickly, because her hope
had no limits. She put no trust in herself and total trust in God.
You don’t have to be strong to follow this way of trust. It is a way for the
poor and the weak, a way for the average, a way for sinners. It is the Little
Way, and it is open to all. Even to you.
Your sins don’t surprise or shock God. He knows you better than you know
yourself, and He loves you without measure. He can make you a saint, even
though you may currently be the worst sinner. Trust Him.
What to do:
Make frequent acts of faith. When you are tempted by despair,
discouragement, fear, or anger, say a prayer such as, “Jesus, I trust in you.”
Then open your heart to God’s grace and truth.
Read about St. Thèrèse’s astonishing trust in God.
***
God loves you. He made you for Himself. He puts no barriers in the way of
those who desire to come to Him. He wants to have an intimate relationship
with you, even on this earth. Respond to His love. Spend time in prayer
with Him each day. Get rid of those things that are holding you back. And,
above all, trust Him. He will not disappoint you.
All Carmelite saints, pray for us.
Amen.
Bibliography
Catechism of the Catholic Church. San Francisco: Ignatius Press,
1994.
Kavanaugh, Kieran and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D. The Collected
Works of St. John of the Cross. Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications,
1991.
Kavanaugh, Kieran and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D. The Collected
Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Vol. 1 and 2. Washington, D.C.: ICS
Publications,1980.
Philippe, Jacques. The Way of Trust and Love: A Retreat Guided by St.
Therese of Lisieux. New York: Scepter Publishers, Inc., 2011.
Rohrbach, Peter Thomas, Conversation with Christ. Rockford,
Illinois: Tan Books, 1980.
***
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About the Author
Connie Rossini
homeschools her four boys
in New Ulm, Minnesota,
where her husband Dan
carves out room for her
spirituality column in the
diocesan newspaper. She
loves 19th century British
literature, Asian cooking,
and Pre-Raphaelite paintings.
Connie blogs on faith-based education and Carmelite spirituality at
Contemplative Homeschool.
She is also the administrator of Catholic Spirituality Blogs Network.
Follow Connie on Twitter for updates from both her blogs.
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